


Sight of the Zillo Beast

by kimirce



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin finds out Palpatine is a Sith Lord, F/M, Fix-It, Fix-it fic, Gen, Palpatine Sucks, Reveal, Zillo Beast - Freeform, anakin deserved better, episode s02e19, even the Zillo Beast hates him, jedi lineages are family, the zillo beast strikes back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24782926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimirce/pseuds/kimirce
Summary: The zillo beast is loose on Coruscant, on the hunt for the High Chancellor. The Jedi try to stop it, but their efforts have little effect. In short order, the beast finds its prey - Chancellor Palpatine, and with him is Senator Amidala. In his desperation to save them both, Anakin Skywalker accidentally forms a connection in the Force with the massive beast.Coruscant, the Chancellor, and the Senator are saved, but something new troubles Anakin. The zillo beast perceived what the Jedi did not, and now Anakin has shared its sight and learned a secret - a secret that could shake the Senate and the Republic itself to their very foundations.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 21
Kudos: 181





	Sight of the Zillo Beast

**Author's Note:**

> I was just going to write a bit at the beginning to introduce the situation the characters are dealing with in detail, but then I decided that was inefficient. So, instead, here are two gifs showing the moments in the episode _The Zillo Beast Strikes Back _directly before my fic starts!__

The Chancellor stumbled off of Artoo, and he and Padmé began to run, joined by the little droid and Threepio. Anakin turned back to face the beast. Master Yoda and Master Secura leapt off its head and hit the ground running. As soon as they joined him he turned and ran with them towards the Chancellor and Padmé.

A shadow passed over his head, and he glanced up, then dove out of the way to avoid one of the beast’s deadly limbs. He and the Masters had their lightsabers lit, but the beast ignored them, making its way directly for the politicians ahead.

Anakin was accustomed to reading the intentions of his enemy in battle, and while he hadn’t been expecting it from a beast like this, it seemed…it seemed as though it was specifically hunting the Chancellor. Had it really understood that the Chancellor was the one that had given the order to kill it?

“Use the gas bombs!” The Chancellor was shouting into a commlink, just as the beast overtook him. Anakin and the other Jedi were still too many paces behind, and Anakin watched in horror as the zillo beast brought its limb down to crush Chancellor Palpatine – and _Padmé._

“No!” he shouted, an utter denial, and his cry rang through the Force. The world shook around him, and the Jedi nearby braced themselves as a wave of power and fear nearly sent them to their knees.

And the zillo beast stopped.

Its scaled appendage hung in the air above the Chancellor’s and Padmé’s head, and its long neck twisted to find Anakin. It bent to him, and Anakin stared into its poisonous green eyes. He had never been very good at connecting through the Force, but he could _feel_ this beast.

It was angry, and confused, and vengeful. The connection flared, and Anakin perceived the world as it did for a moment – harsh and colorless, but permeated by eddies of energy. _Oh._

The zillo beast could feel the Force. It didn’t understand their words, but it could understand their intentions and it could sense where they were – which explained both why it wanted the Chancellor and how it had found him.

But – it was more than that. The beast wanted the Chancellor for more than that. It found something about the Chancellor so utterly distasteful that he _had_ to be destroyed. It perceived the Chancellor as an affront in his mere existence.

Anakin tried to focus on the tenuous connection, sharing his confusion with the beast. Memories of the Chancellor supporting him, congratulating him, smiling at him - flashed through his mind. The zillo recoiled, and the connection wavered.

It shoved its perception into Anakin’s mind again, the colorless world overlaid with the Force – and this time focused in on the Chancellor, on the rot in the Force that spread from within him, curling around him.

 _The dark side,_ Anakin immediately understood, and this time it was he who recoiled.

*

Obi-Wan’s attention had snapped to Anakin the moment he had screamed in the Force like that, full of pain and fear.

“Anakin,” he breathed. He ran toward his former apprentice without a second thought, trying to figure out how to save the Senator and the Chancellor. But, suddenly, he didn’t need to.

The zillo beast had abandoned its rampage and was now focused entirely on Anakin. Mace was a second behind him, and both Jedi masters stared at the scene before them.

“They’re…connecting,” Obi-wan said, shock coloring his tone.

“He’s calming it down for now,” Mace said grimly, “but we still need to figure out a way to transport it off the planet.”

“Off the planet?” came the Chancellor’s voice. Masters Yoda and Secura had Chancellor Palpatine and Senator Amidala, and had brought them to join the other two Jedi. “Since Master Skywalker has the beast under control now, mustn’t we make use of this opportunity to kill it?”

Mace’s brow furrowed. “With all due respect, Chancellor, you’ve already tried that. And if we scare it further, Skywalker would probably lose control fast.”

Padmé was watching Anakin with worry and a hint of wonder. “Is that what he’s doing?” she murmured to Obi-Wan. “Controlling it?”

Obi-Wan focused on his own bond with Anakin for a moment, confirming. “Not exactly,” he replied quietly. “He’s communicating with it.”

Padmé’s eyes went wide. “Then it _is_ sentient,” she said. “We cannot allow the Chancellor to kill it. Chancellor - ” she began, joining the conversation with Master Windu, but at that moment all the Jedi stiffened, and their gazes went as one to the lone figure standing with the massive beast.

A sense of shocked horror and disbelief permeated the Force, and it was coming from Anakin. The zillo beast, which had calmed down a great deal, responded to Anakin’s fear with fear and fury of its own. It raised its head and roared.

Mace lit his lightsaber again. Obi-Wan held a hand out, blocking him. “No!” he said. “We can’t scare it more. We have to trust in Anakin.” He reached into his Force bond with Anakin, sending assurance and calm down it. _You must calm down,_ he projected toward Anakin. _The beast senses your fear. It will only stay calm if you remain calm!_

He felt it take a moment for his words to reach through the roiling emotions that had enveloped Anakin, but he then sensed it as Anakin got a grip on his fear and anger with a great effort of will.

The zillo beast looked down at Anakin, wary, but still.

Mace approached them. “Skywalker,” he called, “can you keep it calm long enough for us to take it off-world?”

“Master Windu, I really must protest - ” began the Chancellor, and the beast snarled in his direction, immediately hostile again. Anakin leapt in front of it, and it moved no farther, glaring hatefully at Palpatine.

“At this point, Chancellor, the fate of this beast is no longer your decision. Too many have lost their lives already.” Mace declared. His voice was even, but knowing Mace as long as he had, Obi-Wan could detect the undercurrent of irritation and anger in his words.

“With Master Windu, I agree,” Yoda declared. “Off-world the beast must go.”

“I…suppose you are right, Masters Jedi,” Chancellor Palpatine admitted.

The beast was still glaring at him.

 _Obi-Wan,_ came Anakin’s voice. _Get the Chancellor away from here._ He shared a feeling of disgust and rage aimed at the Chancellor down their bond, and Obi-Wan was astonished to realize it belonged to the zillo beast. _It won’t calm down until he’s gone._

 _Consider it done,_ Obi-Wan sent back, and stepped between the Chancellor and Mace. “I’m afraid it’s time to go, Chancellor,” he said. “For your safety, of course. Rex, Cody,” he called, “Can you escort the Chancellor to one of the safe rooms in the Senate’s east wing?”

“Sir,” Rex answered, and saluted.

A flicker of irritation seemed to pass over the Chancellor’s face, but it quickly disappeared. “Quite right, Master Kenobi,” he said, and turned to follow the clones.

“I shall accompany you,” said Aayla.

“Thank you, Master Secura,” Chancellor Palpatine said with a nod.

Those poisonous green eyes were boring holes into the Chancellor’s head. Obi-Wan waved them on their way, and turned back to the beast. It eyed the place where the Chancellor disappeared, as though it wanted to go after him again, but thankfully did not.

Anakin stepped back from the zillo beast, expecting it to stay more calm now that the source of its ire was out of sight.

“Are you still in communication with it?” Obi-Wan asked, coming up next to him. That storm in the Force had taken them all by surprise. Anakin still seemed shaken, but hid it well.

“Not exactly,” he replied. “But it understands that we don’t want to hurt it.”

Padmé came up on Anakin’s other side. “It can understand us?” she asked.

“Well, no,” answered Anakin. “But it can…sense our intentions.”

“Sense our intentions?” Obi-Wan repeated, raising a hand to his beard. He looked up at the creature that had been raging just minutes ago. It regarded them with an intelligent gaze. “That sounds like…”

“The Force,” Mace finished, joining them. “Skywalker, are you saying the zillo beast can use the Force?”

“No! Well, I don’t think so,” Anakin answered. “But it can definitely perceive the Force.”

Master Yoda hummed. “Sensed something, you did, young Skywalker,” he said.

“Yes, master,” Anakin affirmed. He glanced at Obi-Wan. “But getting the zillo beast on a transport off-planet is our first priority.”

“Agreed, we are,” said Master Yoda. He turned to a nearby trooper. “A star destroyer, to our location, must come. See to this, will you?”

The trooper saluted. “Yes, sir!” He turned to his fellow troopers and opened his commline.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. “Will the zillo beast be willing to board the ship?”

Anakin looked up at it, still watching them. “I think so,” he said. “But I had better be here when they try to get it on board.”

*

Anakin had indeed managed to coax the zillo beast into the cleared hold of one of the largest cruisers Coruscant had on hand. At the stark insistence of the Jedi Council, the beast had been removed to a distant, classified location.

As the bay doors had closed, the giant creature had regarded Anakin, green eyes piercing. Through the Force, it conveyed one last message to Anakin: an image of the rot in the Force surrounding Palpatine, and an overwhelming need for its destruction – coupled with a sense of trust and responsibility. _Your task, now,_ it seemed to say.

Then, the ship had risen into the atmosphere, and the connection had dropped entirely.

Anakin stared after it, troubled. There was little question of what it was that the zillo beast had perceived, but still Anakin found himself questioning it. Surely, there must be a mistake. The Chancellor – the Chancellor was _good_ to him. He had told the Chancellor things that he had not told even Obi-Wan. The Chancellor had been so kind to a nine-year-old child, fresh from the Outer Rim and slavery, reeling from the changes in his life. How could all that be synonymous with the hatred and malice that the zillo beast had shown him so clearly?

Maybe it was a trick. Maybe the Sith Lord was nearby – Sith Lord, those words had been eluding him, unwilling as he was to apply them to Chancellor Palpatine. But the darkness had been so _strong_ – _but why can’t I sense it?_ He thought.

He recalled his sense of the Chancellor’s presence in the Force – much like an average Force-null’s. Particularly devoid of emotion, maybe. Anakin had always figured that was a politician’s need to conceal his true emotions.

But that _rot_ – a shadow in the Force that loomed over all of Coruscant. Why couldn’t he feel it now?

Anakin stood on the platform long after the ship carrying the beast had gone, staring vacantly ahead while his mind warred with itself.

“Anakin,” a voice said distantly. “Anakin,” it said again, closer, and a hand landed on his shoulder. Anakin snapped out of his thoughts to find Obi-Wan right next to him, examining him with concerned blue-green eyes. “Are you alright?”

Anakin shook him off. “I’m fine, Obi-Wan,” he said. He meant it to sound brisk, but somehow he just sounded tired.

The worry remained in Obi-Wan’s eyes, but he respected Anakin’s veneer of stability for the moment. “Master Yoda and Master Windu are smoothing things over with the Senate,” he informed Anakin. “Master Yoda has called for the High Council to convene in four hours.” Obi-Wan paused. “I think he wants to know about…whatever it is you saw.”

Anakin rubbed his flesh hand over his forehead. “I know what I saw,” he said. “What it showed me. But I…” he wanted to say he didn’t believe it, but that didn’t seem quite right. “…it can’t be true,” he settled on. “It’s…impossible.”

Obi-Wan contemplated his former student for a moment. He hadn’t seen Anakin so openly in turmoil for some time. Having a Padawan of his own had settled Anakin some. “Anything is possible in the Force,” he said finally. “You must trust in it, and in yourself. Do not cloud your vision with doubt.”

Anakin took a breath, and reached for the Force. Its touch was familiar, but…for the first time in a long time, he realized that his mind felt clouded as he reached out. Why hadn’t he noticed before? Why had he accepted this tenuous connection as normal without a second thought, when he was capable of so much more?

The Force opened further to Anakin, slow and muddied. He focused on the vision he had perceived – the rot in the Chancellor, the shadow over Coruscant – and offered it up into the Force. _True,_ the Force whispered back. _True._

Frustrated, Anakin spread his senses wider, searching for the shadow himself. But there was _nothing._ Nothing. The Force didn’t feel completely light, but it didn’t feel dark either.

Anakin opened his eyes and sighed in frustration, and found Obi-Wan giving him a bemused look. “Well?” his former master asked.

“The Force confirms the vision to be true,” Anakin said, “but I still can’t find - ”

He stopped, abruptly, and stared at Obi-Wan. It had been a long time since he had felt fully able to confide in Obi-Wan. There were things he could never tell Obi-Wan about – Padmé, or the Tusken Raiders – but there were other things that he used to have no problem confiding in Obi-Wan.

He suddenly remembered the Chancellor talking to him about his frustrations with Obi-Wan, reminding him that Obi-Wan couldn’t truly understand him – that none of the Jedi could.

 _Why would a potential Sith Lord be so kind to a nine-year-old former slave?_ The question crossed his mind, picking up on his earlier, confused train of thought. The answer was abruptly clear, and Anakin suddenly felt sick. He wondered why he hadn’t seen it before. The Force confirmed it as soon as the thought crossed his mind.

Obi-Wan was still staring at him, oblivious to the rush of revelations that had crossed Anakin’s mind. “Obi-Wan,” Anakin said.

“Yes, Anakin?”

Anakin met his gaze. “I want to tell you about the vision before I try to explain it to the Council.” He smiled weakly. “I could use your advice, my old master.”

Obi-Wan blinked at him. “Of course, Anakin,” he agreed. “I will help however I can. Shall we return to the Temple, then?”

Anakin nodded. “Let’s go,” he said, and the two Jedi strode off, side by side.

**Author's Note:**

> Palpatine's secret is nearly out, and Obi-Wan and Anakin are off to talk things through! Palpatine has left a lot of tangles in Anakin's mind. Hopefully, Obi-Wan can help smooth out the snarls of the dark side buried in Anakin's subconscious.
> 
> I'm really unsure about the characterization in this piece. I wanted to stay true to Anakin's character, but I really had no idea how Anakin would handle the suggestion that Palpatine was a Sith Lord at this point in his life. I kind of feel like he accepted it too fast, but I'm justifying that by saying that the Force was basically screaming at him that it was true and Anakin has a pretty deep connection with the Force.
> 
> Might continue this, but I don't really have any specific plans regarding plot. If you like it, please let me know what you think in the comments - or come visit me on [tumblr](https://kimirce.tumblr.com/)! Thanks for reading!


End file.
